They were outnumbered and outgunned behind enemy lines, but the two U.S. federal agents cornered in a Mexican border city decided to die on their own terms.

No surrender.

The choice facing Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joe DuBois and FBI agent Daniel Fuentes was simple: Hold their ground to be riddled with machine-gun fire, or be captured by drug-cartel henchmen who would diabolically interrogate them using pliers, blowtorches or worse.

"I knew what they'd do to me," recalled DuBois. "I'd seen many pictures of the bodies they leave behind.

"Dan and I decided, if we are going to die, we are going to die here."

In an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle, DuBois publicly discussed for the first time the now-infamous Mexican 1999 standoff that put one of the most powerful cartel leaders in history on America's most-wanted list.
That life-or-death episode on the streets of Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, made the fight personal for DuBois and others in the U.S. Department of Justice ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ and ultimately brought about the capture and prosecution of Gulf cartel kingpin Osiel CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas.

Known as the "Friend Killer" and "El Loco," CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas was sentenced to prison last month in Houston after secretly pleading guilty to his role in the standoff, as well as drug smuggling and money laundering.

DuBois, then stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, and FBI agent Fuentes, based in Houston, were assigned to gather intelligence on leaders of the Gulf cartel on their home turf in Mexico.

On the afternoon of Nov. 9, 1999, DuBois and Fuentes were riding through the city of Matamoros in a white Ford Bronco with diplomatic license plates. They'd both worked against the cartel for years and knew how the streets worked south of the border.

Slouching in the back seat was a secret informant, a Mexican reporter for a local newspaper that specialized in crime coverage, who was giving a guided tour of cartel members' homes as well as stash houses used to sneak drugs into the United States.

They cruised past CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas' home, a big pink house with high walls and security cameras. Within moments, a Lincoln Continental was on their tail, then a stolen pickup with Texas plates.

A game of cat and mouse ensued. Just yards away from city police headquarters, their Bronco was corralled and trapped by a convoy and more than a dozen gunmen armed with assault rifles.

"The only way we were getting out was to talk our way out," DuBois recalled.

CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas jumped from a white Jeep Cherokee and approached the agents with the swagger of a man in charge. In his waistband, he wore a Colt pistol with a gold grip; in his hands, a gold-plated AK-47.

DuBois recalled thinking, "Here is the [expletive] that is going to kill me today."

CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas pounded on the Bronco and demanded the agents get out and hand over the informant. Fuentes flashed his FBI badge.

CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas smiled wryly. In an ongoing hail of profanity, he told them they would be shot if they didn't surrender. At one point, he pointed his AK-47 at Fuentes' head.

The agents refused to budge, saying they were dead either way.

He gave another choice: Just hand over the informant. Again, they refused.

"He kept saying, 'I don't give a damn who you are,' " recalled DuBois. "I replied, 'You don't care now, but tomorrow and the next day and the rest of your life, you'll regret anything stupid that you might do right now. You are fixing to make 300,000 enemies.'

"I told him, 'Think it over, man. There is no way that you will be able to hide anywhere. They are going to come get you.' "

It was a Hail Mary strategy: Hang tough, but still give CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas a way to save face in front of his crew.

"If we had shown weakness, they would surely have busted the windows and overwhelmed us," DuBois said.

There was also Plan B. A gun hidden by the FBI agent's thigh.

"Danny had his gun in his hand," DuBois said. "Unless they got Danny in a head shot, Osiel was coming with us."

CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas' gunmen raised their guns, waiting for the command to open fire.

Instead, he called off the gunmen and told the agents to leave.

"You [expletive] gringos. This is my town, so get the [expletive] out of here before I kill all of you," CÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¡rdenas said.

"Don't ever come back."

As quickly as they'd been surrounded, the convoy pulled out. The agents and their informant headed for the border.

Today, the Mexican reporter is living somewhere in the United States.

The two agents have been recognized by the U.S. attorney general for "exceptional heroism." Both are still on the job.